The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that they had located the infamous missing pet zebra in a field in Christiana.

The zebra, named Ed, broke free Saturday morning and has remained at large since, despite being seen crossing Interstate 24 and gallivanting around multiple neighborhoods in Rutherford County.

In a press release, the Sheriff’s Office said the zebra was spotted in Christiana on Friday through a drone camera. Cpl. Sean White advised people to avoid the area.

“We don’t want to scare the zebra,” White said. “We need time to get him to calm down.”

The Sheriff’s Office followed up later to reiterate this statement.

“The owner of the zebra reported the presence of people and cameras are scaring the zebra and potentially harming the efforts to secure the zebra,” Public Information Officer Lisa Marchesoni said.

WSMV identified owners Taylor and Laura Ford and found that the zebra’s “companion” had been moved to horse stables in Rutherford County so that the Fords and the Sheriff’s Office could continue their search.

Dr. Rhonda Hoffman, MTSU’s Director of Horse Science, provided some input on Ed’s situation.

“My personal belief is that zebras are not a suitable pet any more than a tiger is a suitable pet, but there are rare circumstances where people have wild animals as pets,” Hoffman said.

Although zebras and horses are both members of the equine family, horses have been domesticated for thousands of years and zebras have not.

“He is probably very afraid, and his survival instinct is to run away from anything scary,” Hoffman said. “Keep in mind that zebras run to survive from attacks by lions, hyenas, African dogs, cheetahs, and other predators. If cornered to where they cannot run away, they will fight–bite and kick.”

Ultimately, the public has been advised not to approach the zebra if spotted.

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